Describe your life prior to diagnosis:
Prior to diagnosis, I had headaches, stomach issues and was not growing or gaining weight. My feet hadn’t grown for a couple of years.
How did you come to know (or suspect) that you have celiac disease?
I was misdiagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was 7 years old. My mom (who has celiac disease herself) had a gut feeling that it was celiac disease, even though the blood test wasn’t showing the markers. After being diagnosed with an aggressive bone tumor, my parents kept pushing the doctors to run more tests for celiac disease. Eventually the doctor diagnosed me.
How long did it take for you to get diagnosed since your first symptoms and what (if any) challenges did you face along the way?
It took over a year to get diagnosed. My parents had to push for more testing.
Do you believe anything could have sped up your diagnosis? If so, please explain:
It took nine years for my mom to be diagnosed with celiac disease and if she had known sooner, perhaps my parents would have recognized the signs in me.
Describe your experience with living with celiac disease:
I live a healthier lifestyle than most of my friends. Just eliminating the baked goods and processed foods that most teenagers eat has been beneficial to me. Of course, I always have to plan ahead and bring my own food to events. I learned not to expect anyone to do this for me. I am my own advocate.
I learned to bake and cook at an early age because I didn’t want to deprive myself of the foods I loved. Now I can cook healthy, gluten-free Chinese food and even croissants. Friends and family started asking for my recipes, so last year I began writing a GF cookbook.
I plan to study business and nutrition in college.
Is there anything else you’d like to add to your story?
Since going gluten-free, my tumors disappeared and I grew several inches. Now I see the gluten-free lifestyle as a blessing.
